The Official Stetson 25 Thread

[bowlerman]

i am in awe.

 

[Brando11]

What a great hat! I noticed that the wider ribbon matches the color of the felt and the edge binding, as well as the wind trolley. Sure looks original to me.
Really, really nice!

 

[gtdean48]

:arated:

Very nice. :eusa_clap

Great snag Chief! :eusa_clap:eusa_clap:eusa_clap

 

[Rodkins]

Here are a couple of pics of my 25 with my better camera...

 

[hatophile]

Wow!

 

[Brando11]

Here are a couple of pics of my 25 with my better camera...

Yessir! Now, that's a man's hat.

 

[Rodkins]

Here is my new Open Road Twenty-Five I just fished out of the bay

Currently reset in open crown...I'll post some more pics when I get her bashed.

 

[HatsEnough]

Today I picked up a Stetson Twenty Five from the late 1950s or early 60s in very nice shape, I must say.

(The discoloring above is just the sun peeking thru the trees in the back yard)

No seller imprint, but it does have "Open Road" on the sweat.

It's that ever ready Silverbelly in color.

I happen to have another one. I think it is from a bit earlier than the one I just got above.

 

[danofarlington]

Twenty fives are fine-textured hats. Is there any data about wearing them out in the rain messing them up somehow? I know they're beaver, but it's a high-end hat, and I'm not looking to mess mine up, unless someone says they take the rain. Not that I'd intentionally go into a downpour like you might with an Akubra, but in case I got caught in the rain with it, will that reduce its quality?

 

[bowlerman]

wow-- cool thread.
So, what's the deal with the twenty five? With the exception of jimmy the lid's exceptional wide ribbon, are they all OR's? Was the 25 a high price point while they were made? Are they all light colors?
Anyway, nice acquisitions, guys!
I have a 25 Open Road-- one of my first antique shop purchases, without knowing a thing in the world about hats. All I knew then was that it fit. It has been my beater, and is starting a tiny hole in the crown where it may have worn down from being pinched. I've converted the crease 2 or 3 times, from that low cattleman, to a low rectangular telescope, and it currently rests in a teardrop.

 

[HatsEnough]

The 25 was one of Stetson's higher end hats, yes. In 1950 it was a $25 hat (hence why it was called the 25) when most regular hats were priced at $15 and less. The Whippet was $10, remember.

Many of the 25s seem to have been ORs, but they also did some raw edged 25s in westerns and there were some regular fedoras, too. But it seems that we see the 25 ORs a whole lot.

They were one of the higher quality felts, too.

 

[gtdean48]

...I know they're beaver, but it's a high-end hat, ...

How do you know this?

 

[HatsEnough]

I have no clue how much beaver was in the 25 mix. All I know is that they were more expensive than the average hat. $25 was a lot of cash in 1950. Especially when the average American made less than $3,000 a year.

 

[gtdean48]

I have no clue how much beaver was in the 25 mix. All I know is that they were more expensive than the average hat. $25 was a lot of cash in 1950. Especially when the average American made less than $3,000 a year.

I agree that I THINK there is beaver in the fur felt mix of Stetson 25's & it is highly likely to justify the price point but his statement was so emphatic, I thought I must have missed some information recently. I think there may be some mixed in starting with the 3X.

 

[alanfgag]

I think the emphasis was in this post:

Twenty fives are fine-textured hats. Is there any data about wearing them out in the rain messing them up somehow? I know they're beaver, but it's a high-end hat, and I'm not looking to mess mine up, unless someone says they take the rain. Not that I'd intentionally go into a downpour like you might with an Akubra, but in case I got caught in the rain with it, will that reduce its quality?

Stetson 25's were made over several decades and we have no documentation that I know of as to beaver content in the mix, or if the same fur content was used during the run of the model. I wore my 25 last winter as a snow hat with no ill effect, nor have I seen lasting ill effect from rainstorms in any of my vintage hats. That said, I tend towards the less precious members of my collection when the forecast calls for heavy rain.

 

[gtdean48]

... With the exception of jimmy the lid's exceptional wide ribbon, are they all OR's? ....

I have a 25 in the Corral style = basically the same felt body of an OR but different ribbon treatment & a raw edge. There are some 1950's catalogs posted that show mostly the western 25 models.

 

[HatsEnough]

... but your statement was so emphatic, I thought I must have missed some information recently.

For the record, it wasn't me that made that "emphatic statement."

It was danofarlington who said, "I know they're beaver, but it's a high-end hat."

 

[danofarlington]

How do you know this?

There were knowledgeable assertions to that effect in a thread last year in TFL, indicating they assumed that the Stetson 25 is all beaver. If that's not true, then it's not true.

 

[carouselvic]

25 or

 

[alanfgag]

The 25 was one of Stetson's higher end hats, yes. In 1950 it was a $25 hat (hence why it was called the 25) when most regular hats were priced at $15 and less. The Whippet was $10, remember.

Many of the 25s seem to have been ORs, but they also did some raw edged 25s in westerns and there were some regular fedoras, too. But it seems that we see the 25 ORs a whole lot.

They were one of the higher quality felts, too.

The Stetson 25 had a relatively long run - at least early fifties to early seventies and perhaps a little longer on either end. I'm not sure that the model still sold at 25 dollars in the last years, but during this period the average wage increased by a factor of three and the buying power of 25 dollars shrunk by a similar amount. Hence the range of quality and character for this hat varies quite a bit over this span as do the reviews that appear on the Fedora Lounge with the early hats receiving a lot of love - the later ones, less.